this won't be the end of me
by Ford.Ye.Fiji
Summary: A series of one-shots too short to make into their own story, mostly focused around All Might, Izuku, and Class 1-A
1. always breaking down inside

**A/N: this is gonna be a long one! hopefully I'll remember to update XD**

Toshinori fiddled with the cuff of his striped yellow suit, brows drawn down in worry. He was standing in the hallway, just outside of the classroom. Inside, he could hear the murmurs and rumbles of his students talking excitedly.

Today was his first day back as their teacher. Chiyo had finally cleared him after his battle with All for One, a slight disapproving purse to her lips when she'd nodded grudgingly, "Fine, go to your students. You're well enough to do that at least, but get plenty of rest!"

Still, hesitation made him pause.

Would his students be alright with his new appearance? He knew that everyone had seen the footage, had seen his sickly true form exposed after his last battle. Izuku had reassured him time and time again that they were all simply worried for him.

Still... The hand fiddling with his sleeve paused. Toshinori glared at it. They were long and thin, almost spider-like, knobby knuckles covered by shiny scarred skin and far too bony fingers. He absentmindedly clenched them together, forming a weak fist with his hands. His bones were too bird-like and fragile to do anything now. His muscles were too thin and weak, his insides too ravaged to be of use, his body too much of a prison. He was pathetic.

Toshinori sighed. Maybe he should have waited longer to do this. After all, his students had only seen him shortly on the screen, after his battle. They hadn't quite grasped the true nature- the new reality of his gaunt and frail appearance. He knew he had. The deep hollows gouged in his cheeks, the sunken blue eyes framed by dark exhausted shadows, the semipermanent frown pulling at the corners of his mouth. He looked the part of a skeleton.

Worse, even after all this, he had still ultimately failed. All for One was locked up, but he had already trained a formidable replacement. Even he knew that the villain was by no means done for. He had failed Nana and Shigaraki, he had failed the world by faltering- by retiring, he couldn't even raise a hand to defend his students if he needed too. He was utterly useless.

He was- had been the symbol of peace, he had managed to save so many... But now he had grown weak and he knew it wouldn't be long before crime rates would rise to unprecedented levels. _He was useless._

He looked at the door and his eyes narrowed as he heard a familiar boy's laugh from within. Izuku Midoriya.

He wasn't quite useless yet, he still had one last job to do. Protect Deku, protect his class- even if he was too weak to do much. He would _not_ fail this time.

Toshinori pushed open the door, bracing himself. Instead, after the momentary hush that fell over the room, the class representative, Iida- such a bright boy- stood up. His words were nothing but enthusiastic, "Sir, All Might, on behalf of the rest of Class 1-A we would like to welcome you back!"

With a shout, Mina threw herself into the air, "We wanted to throw a party for you but Aizawa-sensi said not too!"

Kirishima high-fived her, "I still think the red, white, and blue fireworks would've been brilliant though!" Sero snickered, "Maybe it's for the best that we didn't have Yaoyorozu make some."

Uraraka smiled determinedly, "We're really glad you're back with us, All Might!" The rest of the class murmured in agreement.

The former Symbol of Peace coughed, trying to rid himself of the growing blush and sense of awe, "Oh, no, I'm not All Might anymore, I'm afraid-"

Tsuyu flattened her peculiar mouth, "I'm sorry, All Might-sensei, but that's silly. You'll always be All Might, sir. Ribbit."

Surprisingly, it was Tokoyami who spoke next, a rare small smile of agreement on his beak, "We wouldn't have it any other way."

Toru spoke, the sound of her desk being hit by excited hands as her clothes hopped up, "Yeah! You'll always be All Might to us!"

Izuku grinned brilliantly up at his teacher, giving Toshinori a reassuring thumbs up as if to say, 'I told you!'

Toshinori coughed, his face turning red as he made his way to his desk, a small card sat on it with the words 'Welcome Back All Might!' scribbled on it. It was signed by the entire class, even Bakugo's angry scrawl was there.

His next words were a bit watery, but he grinned widely at his cheerfully patient students, "Thank you, each and every one of you. I couldn't ask for a better class."

His soft smile was perhaps the brightest most beautiful one that they had seen yet.


	2. torn apart by this affliction

He hadn't meant to talk so long. He was simply standing there on the field, guiding Uraraka's movements, telling her how to adjust her stance so she could get the move right, when the tickle in the back of his throat started.

He ignored it, trying to finish his sentence, "Move your shoulders a little farther down my girl-" he could feel hot blood coming up the back of his throat, "That's it, just-" he tried to swallow, but he knew that wouldn't help, "Just-" he spluttered helplessly, unable to talk as blood bubbled up over his lips. He began hacking up blood, a hand over his mouth in a futile attempt to at least contain the mess.

Uraraka panicked, "All Might! Are you alright?" By now his commotion and her panicked cries had drawn the rest of the class out of their practicing groups scattered around the field and into a tight worried circle. He managed to choke out "I'm fine-" before he started coughing into his hands again, bent nearly double.

Bakugo barked angrily at the rest of Class 1-A, "Hey! Don't crowd so close! Give him some breathing room, you shitheads!"

Deku had already whipped out a stained handkerchief, as if it had been used before for this very purpose. He stood close, hands hovering over his teacher's back but too hesitant to touch as the fit died down, "All Might?"

Toshinori straightened, feeling awfully embarrassed at his students concern. He wiped his chin with annoyance, grimacing at the blood on his palms and scattered across the grass like ruby droplets.

Deku wordlessly handed him the handkerchief and he took it with a quiet, "Thank you, my boy."

He cleaned away the blood on his hands, forcing a reassuring smile for his students as he tried to hide his embarrassment, "It's quite alright. It happens sometimes."

Bakugo spoke up, "Bullsh-" Uraraka interrupted him with a scowl, "What Bakugo is _trying_ to say, is that that's not very reassuring at all, All Might, sir."

Todoroki added, "No one should be bleeding like that normally."

Toshinori flushed again, "It- it's really nothing-" he looked at Izuku pleadingly who turned to the class, "He's... He's not lying."

The class mumbled disconcertingly.

Bakugo lifted his chin up stubbornly, but didn't protest as All Might waved them back to their individual groups. They walked away with uneasy rumbles of discontent. Todoroki looked at him unsurely but moved away also. Toshinori coughed a last time as he absentmindedly swiped at his mouth, "Now my girl, where were we again?"

She bit her lip and nodded, falling back into her stance with a distressed frown. All Might's mouth pressed into a thin line, "I am fine, my girl. You don't need to worry."

Uraraka nodded, "I know. I just got so scared." She wiped at her eyes, "I thought something bad..."

All Might ruffled her hair, "Don't worry," he gave her a sudden unexpected grin, "Don't worry, for I am here."

She snickered and then to his surprise, darted in for a hug. He hesitantly hugged her back. Uraraka pushed him towards one of the benches, "You can help while sitting down though, right?"

"Of course. If it will make you feel better, my girl."

Mina grumbled to Kaminari as they returned to their group, "Aw man, Uraraka got an All Might hug." She sighed with disappointment, "That's not fair." Kaminari murmured in agreement.

Tsuyu turned to Izuku as All Might shakily sat down on one of the benches closeby, "Ribbit. Does that really happen a lot?"

Izuku swallowed, "Yeah." He looked at the hunched figure watching over them closely, their stalwart and suddenly so very frail protector, "It does."


	3. but now I see

"Score!" Mina danced around the room enthusiastically. Kaminari highfived her. Jiro put her hands on her hips, "Well of course you won at ping-pong. All of the highly athletic people are on your team. _Shoji_ is on your team!" Shoji looked surprised at that, but quickly settled on happy embarrassment at his classmates praise about his skills.

Kirishima laughed, "That's what we said when you guys got Yaoyorozu _and_ Izuku on the facts based game."

Izuku blushed and Uraraka giggled at his face. She leaned against the back of the couch watching the class excitedly. Aoyama sniffed, "You don't need them, if you have me!" He struck a pose. Bakugo roared, "It's because of you that we lost!"

Kirishima stopped Bakugo from charging over with a well placed remark and a hand on his shoulder. Bakugo looked like a furious bull being dragged back into its cage, but he let the fire simmering in his palms flicker out. Aoyama looked a bit offended and opened his mouth to protest but Uraraka interrupted him, patting his shoulder, "Sure, you're the most fabulous out of all of us."

The class continued talking, Izuku pointing out why and how the game was won.

Toshinori smiled faintly from where he was drying dishes by the sink. The new dormitories had indeed led to more class bonding, the children all taking to each other like rice and beans. Young Bakugo had finally found his group, Kirishima, Kaminari, Sero, and Mina all taking him in. They weren't afraid to poke a little fun at him, but at least Bakugo could sense that they truly were friends with him.

Poor Izuku had been trying to accomplish the same thing in years that Kirishima had accomplished in a week.

Toshinori stretched, reaching over the counter to place a glass in its cupboard. One of the kids let out an alarmed shriek, and Toshinori startled badly, dropping the glass and accidentally ramming himself into the side of the corner of the counter.

He barely registered the cup shattering as his side screamed with pain.

He jackknifed forward and slowly sunk down to the floor, his right hand clawing at his side, breath coming out in heavy wheezes. His eyes were blurring with tears as he concentrated on breathing properly. His left hand gripped the edge of the counter in a white-knuckled grip. He could feel the blood bubbling up in an angry response as he closed his eyes in an attempt to block the world out. He spluttered, convulsing as he coughed raggedly, his throat burning with protest, blood spattering the now glass covered tile.

He became dimly aware of someone calling his name. His side burned with a vicious fire. "All Might! All Might! Are you okay?"

"Someone get a teacher!"

"All Might!"

The roar in his ears died down slowly, the hands pulling at him calming as his labored breathing slowed and his ragged coughs died down into gurgles.

He opened his eyes, squinting against the too bright lights. Izuku peered worriedly over him, "All Might are you alright?"

His strained esophagus protested against speech, "I'm... I'm fine."

He winced against the sudden roar from... Bakugo? Kirishima spoke over the loud choice curse words, "All Might, I don't think Bakugo agrees with you. And I'm kinda inclined to agree... I mean..." Kirishima disappeared from view. Tokoyami from somewhere behind him sighed with palpable relief, "Teacher!"

Aizawa appeared growling, "What happened?"

Toshinori pushed himself up halfheartedly, but Izuku stopped him with a gentle hand on his shoulder, "I don't think you should get up yet, All Might. We're still cleaning up the glass."

Aizawa crouched down beside them, "We can at least sit him up."

They got him leaning against the cupboards, his side writhing at every movement, flares of pain stabbing him in the side. All Might looked increasingly disconcerted as he realized that whole class had gathered around him like worried mother hens. A hand went to his side, "I'm fine, I just- I hit the corner too hard."

Izuku frowned, "On... On your left side?"

He grimaced, wiping away the blood still trickling down his chin, "Yes, my boy. But I'll be fine. I've done it before, unfortunately."

Ojiro spoke up, dumping the last of the shattered glass, "What so significant about his left side?"

Izuku's eyes widened, "It- you don't- All Might you didn't tell them? I mean, not that I should be questioning it or anything, All Might-sensei and I just thought you would've said something by now and it's very important that we all know in case something like this happens-"

"Do not fret young Midoryia, you're right. I really should've told you all now that I'm living in the dorms." He smiled wanly at his class. Aizawa frowned, "Are you okay?"

Toshinori nodded, teeth gritted in a stubborn smile, feeling guilty for waking Aizawa up as his side throbbed, "Yes, there wasn't any need to trouble you."

Aizawa grunted disbelievingly but walked away dragging his sleeping bag with him. He didn't leave the room, however, instead flopping over on the couch and sleeping there. It was a rather touching sign of concern from him.

He sighed, looking at his long legs splayed across the floor, the endless pulsing in his side deadening a little at last, "The reason that I retired was because of Kamino Ward, yes?"

They nodded, unconsciously moving closer around their teacher as he sighed, "I- that's part of the reason, yes. You see about six or seven years ago there was a fight, and I was injured." He swallowed, thinking of it, "I lost my stomach, a few ribs, and my left lung... my respiratory system ended up pretty much shot." He continued despite the gasps from the class and a worried 'ribbit' from Tsuyu. "Ever since then I've been getting weaker." He gestured at himself with mild disgust- referring to his skeleton-like appearance, "The resulting numerous and extensive surgeries are part of the reason I look like this."

He lifted up his shirt, grimacing at the raised knotted flesh, now inflamed and irritated from his run in with the counter, a yellow-purple bruise already forming. The ugly scar spiraled outward like a grotesque flower, his side punched inwards unnaturally, accenting the tilt of his shattered bad hip and the jagged ribs in his too skinny chest.

He let the shirt drop, an ashamed frown in place as he avoided looking up at them, "I'm sorry, kids, I really should've told you earlier but I suppose I just forgot about it." His side seized uncomfortably as he breathed in too deeply.

"You... You just _forgot_ to mention it?"

He looked up at Koda's appalled voice. The shy boy was speaking!

He was also visibly distressed, "All Might, you- you could've died! How-" the boy was crying and All Might panicked, "Koji, my boy, I'm alright now-"

"No! No, you're not!" Koji seemed as surprised as the rest of his class at his outburst but continued stubbornly, "You've kept this a secret from everyone for years! You don't sleep enough, you don't eat enough, and you push yourself too much!" He wiped at his eyes, "You've been hurting for so long, All Might. Please let us help you. We- _I_ don't want you to get hurt anymore, All Might." A sniffle, "Please, don't get hurt."

Toshinori stretched, ignoring the pull at his side, and brought him in for a hug, "I'm sorry, Koji. I'll try not worry you anymore, I promise."

Tsuyu took Koji's hug as an excuse to move closer, resting her head on Toshinori's right shoulder, "You really worried us, All Might, sir. Ribbit."

The class moved, getting as close as they dared without aggravating his side. Sato raised his fists determinedly, "Yeah! We'll take care of you, All Might! From now on, we'll help you!"

Yaoyorozu nodded vehemently, "You don't have to do this alone, anymore, sir!"

"You can count on us!"

All Might gave his class a small smile, "I have no doubt that you all will do a wonderful job." Izuku rested his head tentatively on his teacher's other shoulder with a contented sigh.

All Might ruffled the boy's hair and felt infinitely proud and grateful for the kids that surrounded him.


End file.
